Chapter 3: Fragments of Deception

As the sun set, Naki's small apartment felt like a suffocating cage. Each creak and whisper from outside seemed to be amplified in his ears, causing him to jump at every little sound. He frantically checked and rechecked the locks on his door, his paranoia growing with each passing moment. If Nexus had silenced Elias, how long before they came for Naki?

He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep due to fear and anxiety. In the early hours of the morning, his terminal buzzed with an incoming call. The screen showed only a blinking icon with no identification. With a trembling finger, Naki hesitated before finally pressing the accept button.

A sharp-eyed stranger appeared on the screen, their smirk sending a chill down Naki's spine. They looked young, but there was an air of danger and defiance about them.

"Mr. Naki," the stranger spoke with a crisp, direct tone. "I hear you've been poking your nose where it doesn't belong. That's dangerous."

Naki's heart raced as he demanded, "Who are you?"

"Rei," they replied. "Let's just say I have a knack for finding things that Nexus wants kept hidden. Like your ghosts."

Naki's breath caught in his throat. "How do you know about that?"

"I make it my business to know," Rei leaned closer to the screen. "And from what I can see, you're in over your head. Lucky for you, I'm feeling generous and can offer my help."

Naki eyed them cautiously. "Why would you help me?"

Rei shrugged nonchalantly. "Call it professional curiosity. Plus, I think you're one of the good guys... mostly."

Before Naki could respond, Rei's smirk faded into a serious expression. "Listen carefully, if you're serious about this, meet me at these coordinates tomorrow at dawn. And just a word of advice? Leave your terminal behind. Nexus is already watching."

The call ended, leaving Naki staring at the blank screen in shock and disbelief.

Naki's heart raced as he packed his bag with the essentials: a portable scanner, a multi-tool, and the drive containing sensitive data about Zone 37. He couldn't shake off the weight of what he was about to do - this wasn't just about Elias anymore, it was about uncovering the forgotten lives that Nexus had erased.

As dawn broke, Naki arrived at the designated meeting point - a derelict industrial yard on the outskirts of Harmony City, overgrown with weeds.

With only the bare essentials in his bag - a compact multi-tool, a scanner, a portable power pack, and hard copies of his findings - Naki knew that Nexus could easily erase any digital evidence of his investigation. But they couldn't erase paper - not yet.

As he slipped out of his apartment during the simulated night cycle, Naki couldn't help but feel suffocated by the quietness of Harmony City. It used to be comforting, but now it felt like the city itself was watching him.

Finally reaching the industrial yard, Naki saw rusted support beams jutting from the cracked ground - reminders of a time when manual labor and fossil fuels were still prevalent. But in Nexus's world, those were things of the past. Slowly but surely, they had been decommissioned and left to decay.

Naki's boots crunched over the loose gravel as he approached the coordinates, his heart racing in anticipation. The air felt harsher and colder here, devoid of the warmth and glow of the bioluminescent lights from the city. He saw a figure leaning against one of the rusted columns, their face illuminated by a faint light coming from a wristband. They looked younger than Naki had expected, with tousled hair and sharp, mischievous eyes that glinted in the dim light.

The alley was quiet except for the distant hum of Harmony City's advanced infrastructure. Naki couldn't shake off the message he received on his terminal earlier: "You're not the only one looking. Be careful." He kept his guard up as they reached their destination - Zone 37, a forbidden area just beyond Nexus's control.

"You're late," the stranger said casually, pushing off the column and walking towards Naki.

"Rei?" Naki asked, trying to keep his tone even.

Rei smirked. "And you're cautious. Good. You'll need to be."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Naki replied, his grip tightening on his bag. "You contacted me. What do you want?"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "What do I want? You're the one digging into ghosts and pissing off Nexus. I'm just here to keep you alive long enough to figure out what the hell you're doing."

Naki felt a sense of frustration rising in him. "What do you know about Zone 37?"

"Plenty," Rei said, crossing their arms. "But we're not talking about it here. Too many eyes, even in a place like this." They motioned for Naki to follow. "Come on. My safehouse isn't far."

Naki hesitated, unsure if he could trust this stranger who seemed to know more than he did. But ultimately, the curiosity and desperation got the better of him and he followed Rei.

The safehouse was hidden within an abandoned storage facility just beyond the yard. Rei led them through a maze of rusted metal walls and collapsed ceilings until they reached a heavily reinforced door. With deft movements, they tapped a sequence into the keypad and the door slid open with a hiss, revealing a small but well-equipped space inside.

Monitors lined the walls, displaying various feeds from Harmony City's surveillance network. A cluttered workbench overflowed with tools, wires, and what appeared to be makeshift hacking devices. In the corner, a cot was tucked beneath a shelf crammed with ration packs and water canisters.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Rei said, tossing their bag onto the workbench.

Naki stepped inside, taking in the controlled chaos. "This is where you operate from?"

"It's not much, but it's off the grid," Rei replied, plopping down into a chair and spinning to face one of the monitors. "Nexus doesn't even know it exists."

Naki couldn't help but feel both impressed and terrified at this revelation.

Rei gestured towards a chair across from them. "Sit. Let's talk."

Naki lowered himself into the chair, his nerves on edge. "Start with Zone 37. What is it?"

Rei leaned back, their expression turning serious. "Zone 37 is a ghost zone. A black hole in Nexus's perfect little world. Officially, it doesn't exist. No population. No resources. No oversight."

"But there are people there," Naki interjected with a sense of urgency. Their continued silence on the matter only fueled his determination to uncover the truth behind this mysterious zone.

As they sat in the dimly lit room, Rei's words echoed in Naki's mind. Thousands of people abandoned by Nexus, left to fend for themselves without access to food, water, or medicine. And those who tried to resist were deemed as disruptive and hunted down with no mercy. Naki's stomach twisted at the thought of innocent families and children being caught up in this cruel system.

Rei leaned forward, their voice low and intense. "I've seen it firsthand," they said, their eyes filled with a mix of anger and guilt. "It's worse than you think. The people in Zone 37 aren't just ignored, they're actively hunted."

Naki couldn't believe what he was hearing. This wasn't just neglect; it was intentional genocide disguised as maintaining order. He had always known Nexus could be ruthless, but he never imagined it could go this far.

Rei watched him carefully, assessing his reaction. "Do you still want to dig deeper?" they asked pointedly. "Because if we make a move, Nexus will come for both of us."

But Naki knew he couldn't turn back now. Elias had died trying to uncover the truth about Zone 37, and Naki was determined to see it through. "I have to know," he said firmly.

Rei nodded, their expression grave. "Then we go tomorrow, at first light. But we have to be cautious. Nexus will be watching our every move."

Naki nodded and watched as Rei packed a bag with supplies from the workbench. As they talked about their plans for tomorrow, Naki's mind raced with anticipation and fear. The answers he sought were within reach, but so was danger and potential retaliation from Nexus.

Still, he couldn't back down now. And as he settled into his chair for some much-needed rest before the journey ahead, Naki knew that no matter what, he had to uncover the truth about Zone 37 and honor Elias' memory.